Demon Hunter Unleash ‘Huntour’ on the Northwest

Seattle's Demon Hunter will take their brand of modern metal around their area of the country this August, appearing with newcomers like 7 Horns 7 Eyes, as well as resurrecting legends like the Crucified. Noisecreep got some details on the power-packed set of shows from vocalist Ryan Clark.

Many people might be wondering, "How are four show dates a tour?" What would you say to them?

Well, the thought process behind these shows was to do something like a small-scale festival in several different cities – large bills, maybe a reunion show or two, vendors on sight (maybe tattoo artists, etc.). We've had the name Huntour for a while, so we decided to go with it – and I've never loved the perception of the word 'festival.' It's obviously not a full-on tour for us, but we are traveling to several cities, and 'Huntour' sounds better than 'Huntstival.'

The Huntour comes with an 'inaugural' qualifier. I assume this means it would happen every year. Is there a certain theme or purpose behind the tour?

Our goal is to do it every year, and hopefully hit different cities each time. This is another reason for the Huntour name – we'd like to do these shows in different regions from year to year.

The purpose behind it is to make live appearances between our regular schedule of recording or touring. Ordinarily, we'd take a full year off of playing live to work on a record. Doing these shows is a way for us to bridge that gap a little. And instead of just playing a random show here or there – we're doing our best to put together exciting lineups, and make the shows a little more of an event – that's how we've always strived to do things with DH.

The dates on the Huntour are the only dates this year that the band will play. Have the Clark brothers' workload with Invisible Creature hampered the band's touring schedule? Who would win if the band and the design company had a boxing match?

Our touring schedule has always been what it's been. We've never toured two years in a row, and we rarely play shows if we're not touring. Playing these shows after last year's summer tour actually means that we're more active now than we have been in the past. There are also a lot of other happenings in the DH camp that we'll be revealing in the coming months. All this to say – there is no boxing match necessary.

Focused were former labelmates of yours. Have you kept in touch with them at all? Did you have a part in getting them back together for the show?

We hadn't kept in touch with these guys for some time, but when we were putting together the bills for Huntour, we really wanted these guys to be a part of it. It turns out this year is technically the 20th anniversary for the band, and they were gracious enough to agree to play. Focused was a pretty major band for me when I first started playing music, so it's an honor to have them be a part of Huntour.

Finally, are you at liberty to give any hints on the special announcement for Demon Hunter that you plan on revealing on the tour?